Refrigerating apparatus



Oct. 27, 1931. l 5 K 1,828,776

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 31. 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet l (lite 1 mugOct. 27, 1931. J. G. KING 1,828,776

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 51, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 27,1931. J. G. KING REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 51, 1927 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Oct. 27, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JESSEG. KING, OF DAYTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO FRIGIDAIRECORPORATION, A CORPORATION OI DELAWARE BEFRIGERATING APPARATUSApplication filed October 31, 1927. Serial No. 229,910.

This invention relates to a novel construction of evaporators forrefrigerating apparatus.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an improved evaporatorwhich is easily and cheaply constructed.

Another object of the invention is to provide an evaporator which issmooth and readily cleaned, and of pleasing appearance.

1 Another object is to provide an improved evaporator having anenclosure for ice-freezing receptacles which freezes ice quickly.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearlyshown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one form of my im proved evaporator in arefrigerating cabinet;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the evaporator removed fromthe cabinet; 85' Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5--5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 7 is a vertical section of a modified form of evaporatorconstruction.

Evaporators of the type including a header forming a reservoir forliquid refrigerant and depending loops of pipe connected to the headerfor enclosing an ice-making receptacle and for circulating refrigeranthave been known heretofore and are exemplified by the patent to Osborn,No. 1,556,708, October 13, 1925. Objections to such evaporators arefirst, that they are very expensive to manufacture, second that they aredifficult to clean, and third, that they are rather unsightly whenplaced in a refrigerator cabinet, and for the latter reason it has beencustomary to conceal the evaporators in refrigerator cabinets by aspecial lining or partition. My invention is concerned among otherthings, with eliminating the above-mentioned disadvantages. Referring toFigs. 1 and 2, I may construct an evaporator entirely of sheet metalwhich permits the evaporator to be formed by punching and stampingoperations which are very economical to carry out. I may employ acylindrical header or container 10 formed of sheet metal, one end ofwhich may be closed in any suitable manner. The other end of the headeris provided with an inturned flange 11 for receiving a front closureplate 12, (see Figs. 1 and 5). This flange is also formed of thin sheetmetal. Depending from the header are a pair of hollow sheet metal walls13 enclosing a freezing space 19, which are preferably joined at theirends by a connecting hollow wall 14. Preferably these walls are formedas follows. A pair of generally U-shaped plates 15 and 16 are securedtogether in spaced relation and joined at their edges to form a hollowU- shaped wall as shown in the drawings. The U formed by plate 15 is agreat deal longer than the other U so as to extend a considerabledistance below it when the two are asscmbled as described. This wall isleft open at its two ends 17 as shown in Fig. 6, and the ends of bothsheets are welded along the length of the header. A third sheet metalmember 18 is formed into a generally rectangular shell and inserted inthe space provided by the difference in length of the two U- shapedmembers. This rectangular shell is then welded along its edges to eachof the U-shaped members so as to be spaced there from and thus providesa hollow Wall surrounding a portion 19a of the freezing space 19.Preferably the sheet 15 is provided with corrugations 20 extending inthe direction of its length, while the sheet 16 has a few corrugations21 and 21a which are transverse to its length, but is otherwisegenerally flat. Like- Wise the shell 18 has corrugations 22 and 22aextending along the freezing space 19, and on the side adjacent theU-shaped member 16, it is provided with corrugations 23 extending fromone wall 13 to the other wall 13. All of the sheets are spot-weldedtogether along the lines where the corrugations 20 and 23 touch theadjacent sheets. The spot welds are indicated at 24 and form tie meansfor holding two sheets together against pressure within,

the walls. The spaces between the corrugations 20 and the sheets 16 and18, and between corrugations 23 and sheet 16 form channels or ducts 25for circulating refrigerant. The corrugations 21 and 22 on the sheets 16and 18 are adapted to support shelves 28 on which ice-making receptacles29 may rest. These corrugations being hollow and communicating with theinterior of the hollow walls thus enable refrigerant to be circulatedwithin them and accelerate the freezing of ice Within the receptaclesplaced on the shelves. The corrugations 21a and 22a form slide ways orsupports for trays placed on the shelves formed by sheets 16 and 18.

Along the line where the walls are joined to the header, and between thesheets 15 and 16 the header is provided with a series of holes 30 toestablish communication between the header and the walls. Also at thepoints where the walls join the header, the sheet 15 is bent outward toform flanges 31 by which the evaporator may be supported within therefrigerating cabinet.

If desired, the back of the freezing space may be closed by a coverplate not shown.

For the sake of appearance it is preferred to coat the entire evaporatorstructure with vitreous enamel and for this puropse it is necssary tobake the entire structure at high temperature. It is essential to thesuccess ful coating and baking of a thin sheet metal structure that thedifferentparts of thestructure not be of greatly different thicknesses.in order to insure uniform heating and cooling of the structure thruout.Consequently, the flange 11 for supporting the front closure plate mustbe of thin sheet metal substantially the same as the rest of thestructure. However, such closure plates are usually bolted to the headerand are ordinarily heavy, due to the weight of valves mounted on them.It is impractical to bolt a heavy closure plate to a thin sheet metalflange. Therefore, I prefer to use a re-enforcing means within theheader which is sufficiently heavy to enable the closure plate to besecurely bolted to it. It is essential that this re-enforcing means heremoved during the baking operation, for the reasons mentioned above. Tofacilitate its removal the re-enforcing means is formed as a pair ofsemi-circular members 41 and 42,

each of which can be passed into the opening in the flange 11 and whichwhen placed together behind the flange from a re-enforcing ring forsupporting the front closure plate. The re-enforcing ring is providedwith bolt holes 43 and the flange 11 is clamped between the re-enforcingring and the front plate 12.

Fig. 7 shows a modified form of evaporator construction which may beused where a low, flat evaporator is desired. In this figure, the headeror container 10 and the walls 13' may be formed and joined together inthe same 5 manner as described in connection with the othermodification. The walls, however, are shaped so as to provide a wide,flat freezing space adapted to hold two ice-making containers side byside. Preferably the ice freezing space is divided into two portions,each adapted to contain one tray. In this instance the walls are formedof a sheet 15' and two substantially rectangular shells 18 both of whichare secured to the corrugations of sheet 15 to form the passages forcirculating refrigerant. The two shells 18 are spaced from each other atthe center to provide a vertical bridge 14 which permits the circulationof refrigerant between the ice-making containers. The portion of one ofthe shells 18 which lies adjace nt the other shell 18 to form thebridgeis corrugated and spot welded to the other shell in order to withstandpressure within the bridge. Transverse corrugations 22' form guides forholding the icemaking containers in proper position within the freezingspaces, and transverse corrugations 22a form slide ways for supportingthe containers. Where the bridge joins the header, the latter isprovided with a series of holes 30 similar to the holes 30 to establishcommunication between the bridge and header.

It will be noticed that the shells 18' are continuous about the freezingspaces and therefore need be welded to the header only at the ends ofthe header, that is along the edges of the shells, in order to hold therefrigerant. The shells may or may not be welded along the length of theheader (for example, at points along the line 17') as may be foundnecessary or desirable. "Even if it should be necessary forstructuralreasons to weld the shells to the header between the ends it will not benecessary to make these welds continuous, or fluid tight, for the reasonthat refrigerant between the outer surface of the header and the shells18' can do no harm and may even be desirable. l

By referring to Fig. 1 it will be seen that I have provided a form ofevaporator which has a smooth surface and which presents a neatappearance when placed in a refrigerator cabinet. The smooth surfacefacilitates cleaning of the evaporator and thus promotes sanitation.while the neat appearance of the device allows the usual linings orpartitions to be dispensed with entirely.

While the forms of embodiment of the present invention as hereindisclosed constitutes preferred forms, it is to be understood that otherforms might be adopted, all com ing within the scope of the claims whichfollow.

What is claimed is as follows.

1. A fabricated sheet metal evaporator for refrigerating apparatuscomprising a container forming a reservoir for liquid refrigerant andone or more hollow walls connected to the container for circulating therefrigerfor ice making receptacles,

ant, a hollow shelf interconnecting said walls for supporting an icemaking receptacle within the enclosure formed by said walls and shelf,said shelf being in communication at its opposite ends with the hollowwalls for circulating refri erant in thermal contact with the receptace, said container having an opening and being adapted to cooperate witha removable closure for closing said opening, and said evaporator beingconstructed of sheet metal of substantially uniform thickness to permituniform heating of the entire evaporator to an enameling temperature.

2. A fabricated sheet metal evaporator for refrigerating apparatuscomprising a container forming a reservoir for liquid refrigerant and aplurality ofhol low walls connect,- ed to the container for circulating;refrigerant, a hollow shelf inter-connecting said walls and with saidwalls and reservoir container forming a plurality of enclosures for icemaking receptacles and for forming a. support for an ice makingreceptacle within one of said enclosures, said shelf being incommunication at its opposite ends with the walls for circulatingrefrigerant in thermal contact with the receptacle, said containerhaving an opening and being adapted to cooperate with a removableclosure for closing said opening, and said evaporator being coated withvitreous enamel and being constructed of sheet metal of substantiallyuniform thickness to permit uniform heating and cooling of the entireevaporator during the enameling operation.

3. An evaporator for refrigerating apparatus comprising oppositelydisposed hollow walls, a container for liquid refrigerant connected withthe interior of said hollow walls, said walls including opposed outsidesheet metal portions and a plurality of sheet metal shells forming aplurality of compartments said shells being disposed between saidopposed portions one above the other and joined with said portions toform said hollow walls and forming a hollow shelf in communication withsaidhollow walls for supporting the ice receptacle within the uppercompartment.

4. An evaporator for refrigerating apparatus comprising oppositelydisposed hollow walls, a container'for liquid refrigerant connected withthe interior of said hollow walls,

- said walls including a continuous met-a1 sheet forming opposed outsidemetal portions and a plurality of sheet metal shells forming a pluralityof compartments for ice making receptacles, said shells being disposedbetween said continuous portion one above the other and joined with saidportions to form said hollow walls and forming a hollow shelf incommunication with said hollow walls for supporting the ice receptaclewithin the upper compartment.

5. An evaporator for refrigerating apparatus comprising oppositelydisposed hollow walls, a container for liquid refrigerant connected withthe interior of said hollow walls, said walls including opposed outsidesheet metal portions and a plurality of sheet metal shells forming aplurality of compartments for ice making receptacles, said shells beingdisposed between said opposed portions one above the other and joined attheir edges with said portions to form said hollow walls and forming ahollow shelf in communication with said hollow walls for supporting the:ice, receptacle within the. upper compartment.

6; evaporatorfor refrigerating appav ratus comprising oppositelydisposed hollow Walls, a. container forliquid refrigerant: connectedwith the interior of saidhollow walls, said walls: including opposedoutside sheet metal portions; and a plurality of sheet metal sleevesforming a plurality of compartments for ice making receptacles, saidsleeves being disposed between said opposed portions one above the otherand joined with said portions: to form. said hollow walls and forming ahollow shelf in communication with said hollow.

walls for supporting the ice receptacle within the upper compartment.

In testimony whereof I hereto aflix my signature.

JESSE G. KING.

